the state of activity of the kinase and to create binding sites for downstream signal transduction molecules, which in many cases also are substrates for the kinase. The second part of the tyrosine kinase domain in the PDGFβ receptor is phosphorylated at Tyr-857, and mutant receptors carrying phenylalanine at this position have reduced kinase activity. Tyr-857 has therefore been assigned a role in positive regulation of kinase activity. Sites of tyrosine phosphorylation involved in binding signal transduction molecules have been identified in the juxtamembrane domain, the kinase insert, and in the C-terminal tail in the PDGFβ receptor. The phosphorylated tyrosine residue and in general three adjacent C-terminal amino acid residues form specific binding sites for signal transduction molecules. Binding to these sites involves a common conserved stretches, denoted the Src homology (SH) 2 domain and/or Phosphotyrosine Binding Domains (PTB). The specificity of these interactions appears to be very high, since mutant receptors carrying phenylalanine residues in one or several of the different phosphorylation sites generally lack the capacity to bind the targeted signal transduction molecule. The signal transduction molecules are either equipped with different enzymatic activities, or they are adaptor molecules, which in some but not all cases are found in complexes with subunits that carry a catalytic activity. Upon interaction with the activated receptor, the catalytic activities become up-regulated, through tyrosine phosphorylation or other mechanisms, generating a signal that may be unique for each type of signal transduction molecule. Examination of the different signaling cascades induced by RTKs established Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), PI-3 kinase, and phospholipase-γ (PLCγ) pathways as key downstream mediators of PDGFR signaling. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent STAT3 activation has been established to be a key downstream mediator of PDGFR signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells. MAPK pathway The adaptor protein Grb2 forms a complex with Sos by the Grb2 SH3 domain. Grb2 (or the Grb2/Sos complex) is recruited to the membrane by the Grb2 SH2 domain binding to activated PDGFR-bound SHP2 (also known as PTPN11, a cytosolic PTP), thereby allowing interaction with Ras and the exchange of GDP for GTP on Ras. Whereas the interaction between Grb2 and PDGFR occurs through interaction with the SHP2 protein, Grb2 instead binds to activated EGFR through Shc, another adaptor protein that forms a complex with many receptors via its PTB domain. Once activated, Ras interacts with several proteins, namely Raf. Activated Raf stimulates MAPK-kinase (MAPKK or